Jermain Defoe: Sunderland haven't given up on safety - but I've not been good enough

Ex-Black Cats boss Peter Reid is the latest to question their stomach for the relegation fight after accusing David Moyes’ troops of going down “with a whimper”.

Rock-bottom Sunderland are 10 points adrift of safety with just seven games left and look certainties to plunge into the Championship.

They’ve taken one point from the last 21 thanks to a seven-game goal drought that’s seen them fail to find the net for 675 minutes as they close in on Crystal Palace’s nightmare nine-game blank posted 22 years ago.

Defoe’s most recent goal came for England in last month’s 2-0 World Cup qualifying win over Lithuania at Wembley.

Jermain Defoe and the rest of the England 20+ goals club

JERMAIN DEFOE scored his 20th England goal at the weekend, but who else has reached that landmark?

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Jermain Defoe (Tottenham, Portsmouth, Sunderland) - 20

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Jermain Defoe says Sunderland haven't given up on beating the drop

“Working hard for the team is the first thing anyone should do”

Sunderland star Jermain Defoe

Sunderland’s 14-goal top scorer hasn’t been on the scoresheet for the Black Cats since the 4-0 romp at Palace in early February, but insisted the players will fight to the end in a bid to preserve the club’s 10-year top flight status.

The 34-year-old said: “Working hard for the team is the first thing anyone should do. Playing nice football and scoring goals is something that can look after itself, but you have to give everything.”

Defoe admits there are no excuses for his personal drought, and is confident he will soon be back among the goals to keep hopes alive of sparking an improbable fifth straight relegation escape.

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Jermain Defoe and Sunderland are on a long goal drought

He added: “I’ve set high standards at every club I’ve played for and people expect you to score goals so it’s important you keep doing it. If you don’t, people will start asking questions.

“It’s not as if I sit there thinking there’s a lot of pressure on me because it’s no different to being at my previous clubs where people also expected me to score.

“When people expect something you’ve just got to do it. There are no excuses, you have to score goals.”